Almost 70 years after it was built, the iconic Story Bridge has inspired a new novel from one of Australia’s rising literary talents.
Labelled “a brave and impressive debut” by David Malouf, Simon Cleary’s The Comfort of Figs is a recent release from the University of Queensland Press.
Mr Cleary grew up in Toowoomba before completing a double degree in Law and Arts (English and Government) at UQ, and after working in community legal centres and Legal Aid Queensland, is now serving as the Deputy Telecommunications Ombudsman.
It wasn’t until 2001 when he read the papers of his great-grandfather – an engineer who worked on the bridge’s construction – that he began his novel.
“It’s very much a work of fiction,” Mr Cleary said.
“It follows a father and son. The father is a worker on the bridge in the late 1930s and the story follows his journey.
“I was also keen to express a sense of what Brisbane is as a place. I tried to create an impression of the Brisbane of the 1930s and the Brisbane of now.”
Mr Cleary said he was thrilled by the book's reception and was honoured to receive praise from one of Australia’s most celebrated writers.
“I’ve admired Malouf’s work since my university days and it was an extraordinarily special thing for one of my literary heroes to give the gift of those words,” he said.
Running for a total length of almost 800 metres, the Story Bridge was completed in 1940 and designed by John Bradfield, the man behind the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
It was part of a plan devised by UQ’s Professor Roger Hawken in the 1920s to ease congestion on the Victoria Bridge and divert traffic away from the Brisbane CBD.
“The construction of the bridge was this great civic undertaking,” Mr Cleary said.
“It crossed the river from Petrie Bight to Kangaroo Point. It had been on the drawing board for a long time and it came to be a Depression era project which generated employment. During the late 1930s it was the middle of the Depression, the war in Europe was looming and Brisbane was growing and expanding as a city.”
While researching the book Mr Cleary said he was fascinated to learn how the bridge was built cantilever-style – that is from either side of river piece by piece until complete.
While a testament to the architectural achievements of the time he hoped the story would also speak of Brisbane’s rich social history.
“In some ways the book explores the tension between the construction of a city with its buildings and bridges and civic infrastructure with the natural landscape.
“It covers some of that tension and what I’ve tried to do is explore some of the creative forces that clash in a process like that.”
The Comfort of Figs is available in bookstores across Brisbane, with Mr Cleary already at work on a second novel.
Media: Cameron Pegg at UQ Communications (07 3365 2049, c.pegg@uq.edu.au) or Meredene Hill at UQP (0401575143, 07 3346 7932, meredeneh@uqp.uq.edu.au)
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